Citizens' Assemblies and Accountability

The main theoretical objection pressed against empowered citizens’ assemblies is that randomly selected representatives would not be accountable. In contrast, accountability is often held to be one of the key benefits offered by elections. To allow readers to assess the validity of this objection, this chapter starts by distinguishing different understandings of accountability. It then explains why citizen representatives would not be accountable in the same way as elected representatives are, while qualifying the accountability of the latter. It explores the notion of deliberative or discursive accountability, which can apply to CAs, and different forms of non-electoral sanctions that may strengthen the accountability of citizen representatives. Finally, considering that it is often the organizers of CAs that make the representative claim as well as key design choices, the chapter explores different ways in which organizers can be made accountable